St. Johns County notes

About St. Johns County and its places

• Outdoors

  St. Johns County beach driving depends on conditions

  St. Johns County has beach access and driving areas, but tides, weather, sand, season, and current county updates can change the plan.

• Home and property

  St. Augustine archaeology zones can change a small project

  In St. Augustine, digging inside an archaeology zone can add a review step, so the zone map and planning office belong in the project file.

• Rules and licenses

  St. Augustine public events start with the public-property permit

  In St. Augustine, events on public property can need city coordination for parades, festivals, weddings, film work, and other shared-space plans.

• Cars and driving

  St. Augustine parking starts with the garage and peak days

  Historic St. Augustine is easier to enjoy when downtown parking, the city garage, events, walking distance, and enforcement are checked first.

• Outdoors

  Anastasia State Park is St. Augustine's beach and hammock side

  Anastasia State Park gives St. Augustine beach, dunes, maritime hammock, paddling, camping, and nature close to the historic city.

• Cars and driving

  William Bartram Scenic Highway follows the St. Johns River side

  William Bartram Scenic & Historic Highway follows 17 miles of SR 13 from Julington Creek Bridge to SR 16 along the St. Johns River.

Nearby and wider Florida

Nearby stories, regional connections, and broader rules mentioned alongside St. Johns County; these are not all subjects or rules specific to St. Johns County.

• History and culture

  St. Augustine's datil pepper keeps local heat on the table

  The datil pepper gives St. Augustine and St. Johns County a food story with local farms, family recipes, uncertain origins, and serious heat.

• Home and property

  Florida HOA records go beyond the estoppel

  An HOA estoppel can help with a Florida closing, but the governing documents, budget, rules, insurance, contracts, and meeting records tell more of the neighborhood story.

• Cars and driving

  A1A's scenic byway label points to real places

  The A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway is more than a pretty road name; it ties St. Augustine, beaches, parks, preserves, and coastal history into one drive.

• Cars and driving

  St. Augustine Nights of Lights needs a parking plan

  Nights of Lights is a beautiful St. Augustine tradition, but the old downtown works best when visitors plan for shuttles, parking, crowds, and walking.

• Home and property

  Florida lead paint disclosure follows pre-1978 homes

  Most pre-1978 Florida homes, apartments, and condos carry a federal lead paint disclosure step before a sale or lease is signed.

• History and culture

  Castillo de San Marcos keeps St. Augustine visible

  The Castillo is the stone fort that keeps St. Augustine's old story right in public view.

• Rules and licenses

  Pascua Florida Day puts April 2 on the state calendar

  Pascua Florida Day is Florida State Day, a small official calendar marker that points back to the state's name and early Spanish story.

• Rules and licenses

  Florida scenic highway signs are not just tourist labels

  Florida scenic highway signs point to community work, resource protection, local pride, and corridors that are meant to be noticed at a slower pace.

• Home and property

  Lincolnville keeps St. Augustine's home blocks full of history

  Lincolnville keeps a St. Augustine home-block story in plain view, with older streets tied to Black history, local growth, and civil rights work.

• Home and property

  Villa Zorayda put coquina concrete into St. Augustine's style

  Villa Zorayda shows how one 1883 winter home helped push St. Augustine toward poured concrete, coquina shell, and Moorish Revival style.

• Home and property

  Ximenez-Fatio House turns old St. Augustine into a boarding house story

  The Ximenez-Fatio House helps make early St. Augustine feel lived-in, from a coquina store and family home to a boarding house for visitors.

• History and culture

  Flagler College keeps St. Augustine's grand hotel in daily use

  Flagler College keeps the old Hotel Ponce de Leon at the center of St. Augustine life, turning a Gilded Age resort into an active campus.

• Rules and licenses

  St. Augustine Government House keeps government history on the plaza

  Government House in St. Augustine turns a plaza-side building into a long story of governors, courts, federal offices, and public history.

• History and culture

  St. Augustine Alligator Farm keeps Anastasia Island's reptile story growing

  The St. Augustine Alligator Farm began as a late-1800s reptile attraction and grew into a modern zoo with a long Anastasia Island story.

• History and culture

  St. Augustine Lighthouse keeps the coast in view

  St. Augustine Lighthouse gives the old city a tall coastal landmark tied to ship traffic, shore change, local workers, and maritime history.

• History and culture

  Fort Matanzas is the St. Augustine history stop with a ferry clock

  Fort Matanzas is a smaller St. Augustine-area history stop where ferry timing, weather, passes, and NPS notices shape the visit.

• Outdoors

  GTM Reserve puts St. Johns between river, marsh, and ocean

  GTM Reserve helps explain the protected estuary landscape between Ponte Vedra, St. Augustine, tidal marsh, and the Atlantic.

• History and culture

  Fort Mose adds a different first chapter near St. Augustine

  Fort Mose Historic State Park adds free Black settlement history to the St. Augustine area.